Provide a getting started doc for the API

Gauvain Pocentek · Gauvain Pocentek · commit 2237d854f3c8 · 2016-01-03T17:48:26.000+01:00
diff --git a/docs/api-usage.rst b/docs/api-usage.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+############################
+Getting started with the API
+############################
+
+The ``gitlab`` package provides 3 basic types:
+
+* ``gitlab.Gitlab`` is the primary class, handling the HTTP requests. It holds
+  the GitLab URL and authentication information.
+* ``gitlab.GitlabObject`` is the base class for all the GitLab objects. These
+  objects provide an abstraction for GitLab resources (projects, groups, and so
+  on).
+* ``gitlab.BaseManager`` is the base class for objects managers, providing the
+  API to manipulate the resources and their attributes.
+
+``gitlab.Gitlab`` class
+=======================
+
+To connect to a GitLab server, create a ``gitlab.Gitlab`` object:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   import gitlab
+
+   # private token authentication
+   gl = gitlab.Gitlab('http://10.0.0.1', 'JVNSESs8EwWRx5yDxM5q')
+
+   # or username/password authentication
+   gl = gitlab.Gitlab('http://10.0.0.1', email='jdoe', password='s3cr3t')
+
+   # make an API request to create the gl.user object. This is mandatory if you
+   # use the username/password authentication.
+   gl.auth()
+
+You can also use configuration files to create ``gitlab.Gitlab`` objects:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   gl = gitlab.Gitlab.from_config('somewhere', ['/tmp/gl.cfg'])
+
+See the :ref:`cli_configuration` section for more information about
+configuration files.
+
+
+Managers
+========
+
+The ``gitlab.Gitlab`` class provides managers to access the GitLab resources.
+Each manager provides a set of methods to act on the resources. The available
+methods depend on the resource type. Resources are represented as
+``gitlab.GitlabObject``-derived objects.
+
+Examples:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # list all the projects
+   projects = gl.projects.list()
+   for project in projects:
+       print(project)
+
+   # get the group with id == 2
+   group = gl.groups.get(2)
+   for group in groups:
+       print()
+
+   # create a new user
+   user_data = {'email': 'jen@foo.com', 'username': 'jen', 'name': 'Jen'}
+   user = gl.users.create(user_data)
+   print(user)
+
+Some ``gitlab.GitlabObject`` classes also provide managers to access related
+GitLab resources:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # list the issues for a project
+   project = gl.projects.get(1)
+   issues = project.issues.list()
+
+Gitlab Objects
+==============
+
+You can update or delete an object when it exists as a ``GitlabObject`` object:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # update the attributes of a resource
+   project = gl.projects.get(1)
+   project.wall_enabled = False
+   # don't forget to apply your changes on the server:
+   project.save()
+
+   # delete the resource
+   project.delete()
+
+
+Some ``GitlabObject``-derived classes provide additional methods, allowing more
+actions on the GitLab resources. For example:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # get a tarball of the git repository
+   project = gl.projects.get(1)
+   project.archive()
+
+Pagination
+==========
+
+You can use pagination to go throught long lists:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   ten_first_groups = gl.groups.list(page=0, per_page=10)
+
+Use the ``all`` parameter to get all the items:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   all_groups = gl.groups.list(all=True)
diff --git a/docs/api/gitlab.rst b/docs/api/gitlab.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-API/gitlab-module
-=================
+############################
+``gitlab`` API documentation
+############################
 
 .. automodule:: gitlab
     :members:
diff --git a/docs/cli.rst b/docs/cli.rst
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 with GitLab servers. It uses a configuration file to define how to connect to
 the servers.
 
+.. _cli_configuration:
+
 Configuration
 =============
 
diff --git a/docs/index.rst b/docs/index.rst
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Contents:
 
    install
    cli
-   usage
+   api-usage
    api/gitlab
 
 
diff --git a/docs/usage.rst b/docs/usage.rst
